All eyes will again be on Red Bull this season after they walked away with they set numerous records on their way to the double on 2010.
Red Bull are in effect Jaguar Racing rebranded, with the energy-drinks company buying the Milton Keynes-based team after Ford had put Jag on sale at the end of the 2004 campaign.
However, before they'd even competed in their first grand prix Red Bull Racing had already courted controversy by sacking former bosses David Pitchforth and Tony Purnell when the pair apparently disagreed with the Red Bull hierarchy over the appointment of David Coulthard.
Bereft of preparation time, Red Bull were also forced to use a car inherited from Jaguar and expectations were low ahead of their debut season.
New team boss Christian Horner was merely aiming to "lay solid foundations for the future." And what a foundation it was!
Coulthard's arrival evidently proved to be what the team needed to give them wings (sorry!) and, together with team-mates Christian Klien and Tonio Liuzzi, ensured RBR began the 2005 championship by scoring points in seven of the first eight races.
The team scored points in a further five races and finished seventh in the constructors' championship on 34 points - only four behind BAR.
DC's influence was also felt away from the track as he played an integral role in convincing design guru Adrian Newey to leave McLaren and head to RBR. It was the coup of the season and boded well for Red Bull's 2006 campaign.
Klien started the season well, bagging Red Bull Racing's first point of the season at race two, the Bahrian Grand Prix, while Coulthard added a further point to the team's tally at the following race in Australia. However, already was clear that the overheating problems that plagued the RB2 during pre-season testing had yet to be resolved and during the first six events of the season, the team suffered a total of seven retirements.
Coulthard, though, gave the team a huge boost when he claimed Red Bull's maiden podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. He then famously/infamously stood on the podium wearing a Superman cape.
The team began sliding backwards down the field as they called a halt to all development work on the RB2 by July's German Grand Prix, choosing instead to focus Newey's efforts on their 2007 car. A month later, the team announced that Christian Klien was on his way out and would be replaced by Mark Webber for the 2007 season. Klien was later replaced by Robert Doornbos for the final three races of the season after he turned down the chance to race for Red Bull in the U.S-based Champ Car series.
Red Bull eventually finished the season down in seventh place in the Constructors' Championship. However, in 2007 with Webber and Coulthard racing the RB3, a car designed completely by Newey and powered by Renault, the team expected a much-improved season. It was not to be.
Reliability issues dogged the team from the very start of the season with a total of nine technical or mechanical failures hampering any chance of progress. Of course Red Bull were not helped by the five crashes either that Coulthard and Webber racked up between the two of them.
The team, though, did achieve one podium finish when Webber completed the German GP in third place and he could have had another in Japan, when he was racing in second place before being bumped out of the grand prix by Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel.
And although the team improved to fifth place in the Constructors' Championship, 2007 is not a season that can be hailed as a success in any way for the Red Bull Racing outfit.
In 2008 the team has opted to retain Coulthard and Webber as their two drivers. Despite a more reliable car, Red Bull were once again being outshone by their sister team Toro Rosso and they finished a seventh in the Constructors' Championship.
Both Coulthard and Webber crashed out of the season opener in Melbourne, but the Australian then went on a bit of run-scoring spree, picking up 18 points in his next seven outings. He also secured the team's first ever front-row start at Silverstone. Coulthard on the other hand scored the team's only podium finish in Canada, but his poor performances in qualifying cost him dearly in most races.
Coulthard announced on the eve of his home grand prix at Silverstone that he would pack it in after 14 years in Formula One. The team moved quickly and snapped up the services of the impressive Sebastian Vettel from STR for the new season.
After years in the mid table, the team finally made their mark and came very close to winning their maiden World Championship with Sebastian Vettel. Some would say they would've won had it not been for the diffuser debacle. They picked up just 1.5 points in the first two races of the year, but their fortunes turned in China when Vettel led home a 1-2. It was more the same at Silverstone while Webber was the one to lead Vettel home in Germany. It was the Australian's first GP victory.
Vettel's title hopes, though, took a big blow, perhaps even fatal, as he suffered two engine failures in Hungary and Valencia. However, he kept the pressure on Brawn's Jenson Button who was limping over the finish line. He claimed his third victory of the season in Japan while Webber won in Brazil. Button finally wrapped up the Championship in the penultimate race of the season when Vettel could only manage fourth. Red Bull, though, finished the year on a high as Vettel led home their fourth 1-2 of the season in the final race in Abu Dhabi. Their total of 153.5 points helped them to second place in the Constructors' Championship - their highest-ever finish.
After their record-breaking 2009, there was only going to be one aim for the 2010: adding some silverware to the trophy cabinet.
Their decision to opt for continuity by retaining both drivers and sticking with Renault as their engine supplier meant it was a smooth transition to the new season and they were once again labelled as one of the teams to beat.
Newey's RB6 certainly didn't disappoint pace wise and his drivers pulled off some spectacular one-lap wonders. Unfortunately for the team mechanical problems meant they failed to take advantage of their early dominance in qualifying. Vettel claimed pole positions in the first two grands prix and but twice he was thwarted by technical issues while in front. Webber, meanwhile, didn't make the best of starts and his early season nightmare was confirmed at his home race when he crashed into Lewis Hamilton.
Their luck changed in Malaysia and the team would dominate until the Turkish Grand Prix. Webber claimed pole at Sepang but Vettel was the man to claim the race honours as he led home their first 1-2 of the season. Webber finally started to get his act together at the start of the European season. He claimed back-to-back pole positions and race victories at the Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix to put his name forward as Championship contender. Vettel joined him on the podium in both races.
Things though went horribly wrong in Turkey as the first signs of a chink in the team's armour appeared. Webber looked to be on course for a hat-trick of wins after getting a clean getaway from pole until all hell broke loose on lap 40. Vettel, who had come from third on the grid, positioned himself nicely to overtake his team-mate, but Webber wasn't about to give up P1 easily. With neither driver willing to budge they inadvertently collided. Vettel's race was over while Webber was forced to pit and had to settle for third place.
The drivers ended up blaming each other for the collision while team boss Horner implied that Webber didn't give his team-mate enough room at the corner. The team looked like they had moved on from their Turkish disaster when they confirmed Webber had signed a new deal that tied him down until the end of the 2011, but results in Canada stated otherwise as for the first time in the season a Red Bull didn't start from pole. It didn't go much better during the race with Vettel and Webber finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Normal service would resume in the European GP as Vettel returned to the front of the grid and top step of the podium, but things would flare up again at Silverstone where accusations of favouritism were thrown around. Webber believed he was hard done by after the team took a new spec front wing off his car to put on Vettel's RB6. To add insult to injury, Vettel pipped Webber to pole position but the Australian had the final laugh by winning the race. As he crossed the finish line, Webber told the team "Not bad for a number two driver, eh?"
Peace broke out after that and Webber claimed another P1 in Hungary to stretch his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship. However, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton's late charge meant it was no longer a straight race between the two Red Bull drivers.
With Vettel winning in Japan and Brazil it meant that four drivers would start the final race of the season still in contention. Red Bull's 1-2 in Brazil also gave them their first piece of silverware, the Constructors' Championship.
Alonso started favourite as he was eight points ahead of Webber with Vettel another seven points behind. Hamilton was 24 points off Alonso's 246. Most believe people believed it would be a battle between Alonso and Webber for the title and some even called on Red Bull to introduce team orders. The team though dismissed the suggestion. With all eyes on Alonso and Webber, Vettel produced a cool, calm and collected display to snatch the title from under their noses. He started on pole and never relinquished the position and, with Alonso and Webber finishing seventh and eighth respectively, he became F1's youngest Champion in history.
Besides the double, Red Bull also claimed 15 out of 19 pole positions. It also meant that design guru Newey became the first man to win Constructors' titles with three different teams following his earlier success with Williams and McLaren.
The dust was still starting to settle around Abu Dhabi when whispers of a possible Vettel-Ferrari link-up started to make the rounds. Red Bull though were quick to tie their German superstar down to a long-term deal. Team boss Christian Horner and design guru Adrian Newey were also handed new deals. With all the top players remaining with the team you wouldn't bet against Red Bull having another storming season.
